The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Prisoner’s Dilemma
Little, Brown Young Readers, 2009
Fantasy Fiction
ISBN: 0316045527
400 pages
Synopsis
Join the Mysterious Benedict Society as Reynie, Kate, Sticky, and Constance embark on a daring new adventure that threatens to force them apart from their families, friends, and even each other. When an unexplained blackout engulfs Stonetown, the foursome must unravel clues relating to a nefarious new plot, while their search for answers brings them closer to danger than ever before.
Critique
I really do love these books, and I was certainly excited to see another addition to the series. For those who are just entering the scene of The Mysterious Benedict Society here on this review, you may want to check out the other two that I’ve posted previously because this review will simply be a reaction and comparison to the others.
That said, I have to be honest that I was a little disappointed in this one. Although there are a lot of fun fight scenes between Milligan and the Ten Men, there aren’t nearly as many brain teasers for the readers to engage in with the four main characters. Overall, the book is great, and it’s certainly a fun read, but what I feel makes these books so particularly unique and such a great read are the puzzles that Stewart interjects throughout. Certainly, if you’re a fan, you should still read it, but I think it’s the weakest in the series so far.
The other two books in this series are The Mysterious Benedict Society (book 1), and The Mysterious Benedict Society and the Perilous Journey (book 2).
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For the Classroom
It’s a good book to recommend to any young reader, and the puzzles really make the text come alive, but if there were any particular subject this text would be used in other than a literature or reading course would be the study of government systems and how they affect the governed.
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